Why is The Xhosa Language Not Getting Enough Attention in South Africa?

Xhosa is a Bantu language and one of the official languages of South Africa. In South Africa alone, Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people of the South African population. The Xhosa language is sometimes called a 'click' language because of the use of so many click sounds as consonants. Although Xhosa is written using a Latin alphabet, understanding this language may not as easy as learning the English language; there are some parameters that people must consider.

Due to the massive used of the Xhosa language by some South-African people, it is widely used in government, education, and the media. Thus, the significance of the Xhosa language is not only essential to the culture of the South-African people, but also a big contribution to the communication and understanding of its people.

South-Africa is one of the multilingual countries in the world, and due to the rapid changes of languages nowadays, including of African languages in South African, Xhosa language speakers now claim that they are hesitant about on how to preserve and develop their own language.

The truth is that many black parents in South Africa today encourage their children to study foreign languages at school, rather than engaging their children to continue learning about their mother tongue.

Most parents prefer their children to study foreign languages as early as possible since from the lowest grades of the children. But why?

For a language like the Xhosa language, whose importance is vital in their society, it is crucial that people are empowered in the language that they fully understand, linguistically and culturally. Thus, the neglect of the mother tongue of the society means undermining their identity.

So, what are the bases why African languages, like Xhosa are experiencing underestimation in the society?

When Christian missionaries came to South Africa; one of the missionaries' main objectives in the country was to eradicate African traditional religion. Unfortunately, the missionaries' preaching strategy seemed to work out, and has had consequences until today. Some people from the Xhosa tribes today undermine those people who hold to their original traditions, customs, including their language.

Although, English is one of the official languages of South Africa, preserving and learning indigenous languages is important as well. Speaking using your native tongues is the reflection of your culture, values, and norms. Thus, preserving the Xhosa language is essential to the community of South Africans and their history.

The dominance of major languages, such as the English language, has a strong negative influence to other community. What most people don't know about the importance in preserving indigenous languages is its crucial significance as a tool of empowerment.

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